go together like a horse and carriage...sometimes. Some of these stories, about men and women falling in and out of love, have a happy ending and others don't. But they all make for a good summer read.
Britannia rules in these historical fiction works that have the British Isles as their setting. Margaret Leroy's latest novel, The Soldier's Wife, takes place on the Isle of Guernsey during the WWII German occupation. Vivienne de la Mare is living with her two daughters and her mother-in-law while her husband is at war. After she falls in love with one of the German soldiers, she must make a difficult decision that will affect everyone. If you enjoyed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, you'll like this one too. The American Heiress, by Daisy Goodwin, is the saga of Cora Cash (yes that's her name), a rich American who marries Ivo, the Duke of Wareham, a broke British aristocrat with a secret in his past. The plot is familiar, but the book delivers with its rich detailing of the English social scene of the 1890's and the unraveling of her new husband's secret. My Dear I Wanted to Tell You, by Louisa Young, relates the story of two couples and their intertwined lives during WWI. Commanding officer, Peter Locke, and Riley Purefoy, who served under him, bring the horrors of war home and involve their loved ones in the despair that haunts them.
Let's fast forward to some love stories that are set in the present day. Best Staged Plans, by Claire Cook, is a light, humorous book about a woman who stages houses for a living. She has trouble staging her own life though as an empty-nester facing some mid-life craziness. Veteran author, Mary Gordon, presents a thoughtful work about first love in The Love of My Youth. Miranda and Adam, reunited in Rome after 30 years, explore each other's lives and revisit the affair they had during high school and college. Tom McNeal also tackles first love in the heart breaker, To Be Sung Underwater. Judith Whitman, caught in an unhappy marriage begins to wonder if she made a mistake by not staying with her first, Willy Blunt, who still lives in her small home town.
These books are not yet published but should be worth waiting for. A Small Hotel, by Robert Olen Butler, is set in New Orleans, where the soon to be divorced Michael and Kelly Hayes fell in love. Kelly returns to room 303 in the hotel and begins to examine her life and where her future lies. A debut novel, Before Ever After, by Samantha Sotto, takes us on a wild journey in search of a supposedly dead husband who appears 3 years later half way around the world.
Read any good love stories lately?
Let's fast forward to some love stories that are set in the present day. Best Staged Plans, by Claire Cook, is a light, humorous book about a woman who stages houses for a living. She has trouble staging her own life though as an empty-nester facing some mid-life craziness. Veteran author, Mary Gordon, presents a thoughtful work about first love in The Love of My Youth. Miranda and Adam, reunited in Rome after 30 years, explore each other's lives and revisit the affair they had during high school and college. Tom McNeal also tackles first love in the heart breaker, To Be Sung Underwater. Judith Whitman, caught in an unhappy marriage begins to wonder if she made a mistake by not staying with her first, Willy Blunt, who still lives in her small home town.
These books are not yet published but should be worth waiting for. A Small Hotel, by Robert Olen Butler, is set in New Orleans, where the soon to be divorced Michael and Kelly Hayes fell in love. Kelly returns to room 303 in the hotel and begins to examine her life and where her future lies. A debut novel, Before Ever After, by Samantha Sotto, takes us on a wild journey in search of a supposedly dead husband who appears 3 years later half way around the world.
Read any good love stories lately?
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